Building bridges between environmental and political agendas is essential nowadays in face of the increasing human pressure on natural environments, including wetlands. Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services for humanity and can generate a considerable direct or indirect income to the local communities. To meet many of the sustainable development goals, we need to move our trajectory from the current environmental destructive development to a wiser wetland use. The current article contain a proposed agenda for the Pantanal aiming the improvement of public policy for conservation in the Pantanal, one of the largest, most diverse, and continuous inland wetland in the world. We suggest and discuss a list of 11 essential interfaces between science, policy, and development in region linked to the proposed agenda. We believe that a functional science network can booster the collaborative capability to generate creative ideas and solutions to address the big challenges faced by the Pantanal wetland.

Introduction:The transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Brazilian Pantanal region has been studied during the last decade. Although considerable knowledge is available regarding the mammalian hosts infected by T. cruzi in this wetland, no studies have investigated its vectors in this region. This study aimed to investigate the presence of sylvatic triatomine species in different habitats of the Brazilian Pantanal region and to correlate their presence with the occurrences of vertebrate hosts and T. cruzi infection. Methods: The fi eldwork involved passive search by using light traps and Noireau traps and active search by visual inspection. The light traps were placed at fi ve selected points along forested areas for seven nights during each of the nine excursions. At each point where a light trap was set, eight Noireau traps were placed in palm trees and bromeliads. Results: In all, 88 triatomine bugs were collected: two and one individuals from light traps and Noireau traps, respectively; three from peridomestic areas; 23 in coati nests; and 59 in thornbird nests. In this study, active search in microhabitats showed higher effi ciency than passive search, since 95% of the triatomine bugs were caught in nests. Further, triatomine bugs were only found to be infected by T. cruzi in coati nests. Conclusions: Coati nests might act as a point of convergence and dispersion for triatomine bugs and mammal hosts infected by T. cruzi, thereby playing an important role in the sylvatic cycle of T. cruzi in the Pantanal region.

ABSTRACT. Checklist of the birds of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Contrasting with several other Brazilian states, just recently the state of Mato Grosso do Sul started to organize an inventory of its birdlife. We list 630 species of birds for the Mato Grosso do Sul, belonging to 26 orders and 74 families, representing 34% of birds occurring in Brazil. About 90% of these species have documented records of its occurrence in the state (Main List), according to proposed by CBRO. The others species still wait for adequate supporting documentation (Secondary List). Forty fi ve species were excluded for the Main List and included in Tertiary List due to problems in supporting documentation and/or incompatible distribution. The variety of landscapes and vegetation types under the infl uence of the biomes Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic forest, Chaco and Bosque Chiquitano is partly responsible for the high species diversity in Mato Grosso do Sul. However, several of these landscapes have been suppressed and/or severely altered by pastures, agriculture (mostly monocultures of sugar cane and soybeans) and agroforestry (Pinus and Eucalyptus). Thirty-eight species of birds occurring in the state were present on red lists at the global and/or national level. There are still large gaps in knowledge about the avifauna of Mato Grosso do Sul, mainly in the region of Paiaguás in the Pantanal wetlands and in neighboring regions with the state of Goiás, Paraguay (Chaco) and Bolivia (Bosque Chiquitano).

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The Pantanal floodplains of Brazil are a region of rich biodiversity. To date, the true richness of the Pantanal avifauna has not been explored satisfactorily caused by a lack of studies in the region and, especially, by the divergence of opinion among the works published by various authors on the many species found in the region. This is due to the lack of criteria in examining records, both with regard to the reliability of the identifications and in the precise geographical allocation. Therefore, in the study, we collage findings from various studies and records created by us in the last few decades from 199 distinct locations to produce a list of birds in the Pantanal floodplains. We grouped the results into three lists: primary, secondary, and tertiary. We found that the avifauna of the Pantanal floodplain is composed of a total of 617 species, of which 571 (92%) have supporting records of occurrence (primary list) and 46 still lack documentation (secondary list). The number of species listed here for the Pantanal floodplain represents 32% of all avifauna known to the Brazilian territory. This reflects the importance of the biome, as part of the national territory, for the maintenance of a meaningful avifaunistic richness. Migratory birds (n = 183), notably northern ones (n = 43), are among the main players involved in ecological processes of nutrient cycling and dispersion of important pathogens between the two continents. With regard to conservation, 25 species are included in some category of threat in the lists of threatened species with global extinction. We hope that our list will help future researchers a more definitive approach when researching the avian fauna in this bountiful region.

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Abstract:The Crested Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus lophotes) is a member of the Tyrannidae family that occurs throughout open areas in central, southeastern and southern Brazil. Although this species occurs in regions that surround the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, there had never been a recorded sighting in the state. Thus, information on its distribution across Brazil's midwestern region is scarce. In this study, we report the first sightings of K. lophotes in Mato Grosso do Sul. These records extend the known distribution range of the species in midwestern Brazil and contribute to expanding knowledge of bird species composition in this region. We believe that the absence of K. lophotes from the lists of bird species recorded in different localities in Mato Grosso do Sul may be a reflection of its local rarity and the lack of bird inventory efforts in this region, which underscores the need for further research into bird communities in this poorly known region of Brazil. Keywords: birds, Tyrannidae, range extension, Cerrado, mid-western Brazil. GODOI, M.N., COSTACURTA, M.B., NUNES, A.P., PATRIAL, E.W. & MORANTE FILHO, J.C. Primeiros registros da maria-preta-de-penacho (Knipolegus lophotes, Tyrannidae) no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Biota Neotrop. 12(3): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v12n3/pt/abstract?shortcommunication+bn01012032012Resumo: A Maria-Preta-de-Penacho (Knipolegus lophotes) é um membro da família Tyrannidae que no Brasil ocorre em áreas abertas das regiões sudeste, central e sul. Apesar de ocorrer em regiões próximas ao estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, a espécie nunca foi registrada neste estado, e assim informações sobre sua distribuição no centro-oeste do país são escassas. Neste artigo reportamos os primeiros registros da ocorrência de K. lophotes no Mato Grosso do Sul. Estes registros ampliam a área de distribuição conhecida dessa espécie na região centrooeste do Brasil e contribuem para o conhecimento da avifauna desta região. Acredita-se que o registro recente de K. lophotes no Mato Grosso do Sul se deva tanto a sua raridade local quanto a falta de estudos ornitológicos mais amplos no estado, apontando a necessidade da realização de mais estudos nesta região pouco conhecida do país em relação a sua avifauna. Palavras-chave: aves, Tyrannidae, extensão de distribuição geográfica, Cerrado, M.N. et al.